Canzone dedicata a George W. Bush dall’album With Teeth (2005). Nine Inch Nails voleva suonarla agli MTV Awards davanti ad una foto del Presidente, ma gli organizzatori hanno detto di no e Nine Inch Nails ha preferito rinunciare alla sua esibizione. Segue il testo.

So naive
I keep holding on to what I want to believe
I can see
But I keep holding on and on and on and on

Before he obtained the Republican nomination for President, John McCain liked George W. Bush. In fact, back in 2005, McCain went on Meet the Press and said the following:

"The fact is that I have agreed with President Bush far more than I have disagreed (with him). And on the transcendent issues--the most important issues of our day--I have been totally in agreement (with) and support of President Bush."

But now, with George W. Bush's approval ratings in the toilet, John McCain wants us to believe that he'd be different. John McCain wants us to believe that he wouldn't take Bush's tax cuts cuts for the rich to an absurd level. The evidence says otherwise. John McCain wants us to believe that he wouldn't continue the disastrous Bush Doctrine of Preemptive War as President. The evidence, McCain singing "Bomb, bomb, bomb Iran," says McCain would be more of the same on foreign policy.

John McCain wants us to believe that he has spent the last eight years fighting the Bush administration in the Senate. The truth of the matter is this: John McCain has spent the last eight years carrying President Bush's water in the Senate. The record shows that John McCain voted with George W. Bush ninety percent of the time. Yet John McCain promises change; he wants us to believe that a change of name placard on a desk in the oval office, not a change in philosophy, is the way to solve our problems.

That's a difficult argument for any politician to make. If a politician makes that argument, they better provide specific examples of how they'd change this country's policies for the better. According to the Christian Science Monitor, John McCain failed to do that:

"'We’re going to change that. We’re going to recover the people’s trust by standing up again for the values Americans admire,” McCain said. “The party of Lincoln, Roosevelt, and Reagan is going to get back to basics.'

But specific policy proposals, particularly those concerning the economy or how McCain would be different from President Bush, were in short supply."

Before McCain's supporters jump on me for reporting "media biases," I should point out that the Monitor was reporting on a focus group it ran. This focus group consisted of swing voters in swing states--the people who will decide this election. They were not impressed by McCain's empty promise of change:

"In our Patchwork Nation communities, however, no one has ever questioned whether McCain is an American hero. Those who are skeptical of McCain are skeptical for other reasons. They want to get a better idea of what he wants to do.

The top issue for our communities is the economy and it is an issue the Republicans did not address directly here. They talked about Sen. Barack Obama and how they believed he would raise taxes. (Senator Obama maintains he will cut them for 95 percent of American households.) But Republicans offered no real economic policy roadmap for a McCain administration."

There is a simple fact that is driving this election: people are struggling. We are struggling to pay for the gas we need to get to work. We are struggling to pay for the heat our homes will need this winter. We are struggling to afford food, which has steadily become more and more expensive. We are struggling to pay our mortgages. We are struggling when we read the paper and we read the news of the kid we coached in Little League who came back from Iraq without any legs. We are struggling when we read about the honor student who joined the army because his family couldn't pay for college, and gave the last full measure of devotion to this country in Iraq. We are struggling to ward off asthma attacks as our air becomes ever more polluted. We are struggling to pay our medical bills because we don't have insurance and our kid got sick. We are struggling to find a new job after the plant closed and our old job was sent to China so a few shareholders could get slightly higher dividend checks. And I could write a thousand more sentences about the sad state of affairs in this country after eight years of George W. Bush's policies.

But John McCain, a man who was at the least an accomplice in the failures of George W. Bush, wants us to believe that he is the solution to these problems. A man who thinks that George W. Bush is, on balance, a good role model for the future President wants us to believe that we should elected him, and allow him to take the country down the same path to failed policies of the past. This man wants us to believe that his opponent is "too risky," and therefore shouldn't be trusted. The real question for us, as voters, to ask is this, "Can it get any worse?" I fear the answer is yes--especially if we are foolish enough to elect Senator John McCain to the Presidency.

by Peter Dale Scott
Global Research, September 4, 2008

Though few Americans realize it, Cheney and Rumsfeld worked through the 1980s and 1990s on emergency nuclear-response plans which allegedly suspended the American constitution and also Congress.[1] (Through these decades Rumsfeld was CEO of a major pharmaceutical firm, and in the later 1990s Cheney was CEO of Halliburton; but their private status did not deter them from continuing to exercise a supra-constitutional planning power conferred on them by Ronald Reagan.)

Even fewer Americans know that these rules, originally dealing with a nuclear attack on America, were extended by Reagan Executive Order 12656 to cover “any occurrence, including natural disaster, military attack, technological emergency, or other emergency, that seriously degrades or seriously threatens the national security of the United States.”[2] And few Americans realize that at least some of these rules, known technically as Continuity of Government or COG rules, were invoked before 10:00 AM on September 11, 2001.[3]

As he did in 2007, President Bush has again, on August 28, 2008, continued for another year the national emergency first officially proclaimed on September 14, 2001, along with “the powers and authorities adopted to deal with that emergency:”

Notice: Continuation of the National Emergency with Respect to Certain Terrorist Attacks

Consistent with section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622(d)), I am continuing for 1 year the national emergency I declared on September 14, 2001, in Proclamation 7463, with respect to the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center, New York, New York, the Pentagon, and aboard United Airlines flight 93, and the continuing and immediate threat of further attacks on the United States.

Because the terrorist threat continues, the national emergency declared on September 14, 2001, and the powers and authorities adopted to deal with that emergency, must continue in effect beyond September 14, 2008. Therefore, I am continuing in effect for an additional year the national emergency I declared on September 14, 2001, with respect to the terrorist threat.

This notice shall be published in the Federal Register and transmitted to the Congress.

GEORGE W. BUSH

THE WHITE HOUSE,

August 28, 2008.[4]

Once again appropriate personnel in Congress should learn and review what those “powers and authorities” are, since almost certainly they include COG (Continuity of Government) rules. In 2007 National Security Presidential Directive 51 (NSPD 51), issued by the White House, also extended for one year the emergency proclaimed in 2001; and it empowered the President to personally ensure "continuity of government."[5]

NSPD 51 also contained "classified Continuity Annexes" to "be protected from unauthorized disclosure." Congressman DeFazio twice requested to see these Annexes, the second time in a letter cosigned by House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson and Oversight Subcommittee Chairman Christopher Carney. The White House denied these requests, claiming that the congressmen lacked the requisite clearances. But as I wrote earlier this year,

"Congress has a right to be concerned about Continuity of Government (COG) plans refined by Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld over the past quarter century….The story, ignored by the mainstream press, involved more than the usual tussle between the legislative and executive branches of the U.S. Government. What was at stake was a contest between Congress's constitutional powers of oversight, and a set of policy plans that could be used to suspend or modify the constitution."[6]

Oliver North, who worked on COG planning with Rumsfeld and Cheney in the 1980s, was asked in the Iran-Contra Hearings about his work on an emergency plan “that would suspend the American constitution.” Democratic Senator Inouye, who was presiding, pounded his gavel and interjected that this was a “highly sensitive and classified matter,” not to be dealt with in an open hearing.[7] Congress has never discussed COG plans publicly since that time.

According to Wikipedia, “The National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601-1651) is a United States federal law passed in 1976 to stop open-ended states of national emergency and formalize Congressional checks and balances on Presidential emergency powers. The act sets a limit of two years on states of national emergency. It also imposes certain "procedural formalities" on the President when invoking such powers, and provides a means for Congress to countermand a Presidential declaration of emergency and associated use of emergency powers (emphasis added).

Bush’s denial of the Homeland Security’s right to review the COG plans in the classified Appendices of NSPD-51 should have been seen as a constitutional crisis -- a line in the sand for Congress to assert its constitutional rights and duties. Now, one year later, I understand (although I cannot corroborate it from the Internet) that Congressman Kucinich has introduced or will introduce a bill for Congress, under the terms of the National Emergencies Act, to countermand the presidentially proclaimed national emergency. This is an important move, but it should not obviate the need for Congress to review rules which allegedly restrict its own powers under the constitution.

Between now and November the American electorate have an opportunity to present this demand to everyone running for office: that they will insist on vigorous congressional action to expose and dispose of these secret COG rules -- rules that allegedly suspend the American constitution.

© Copyright Peter Dale Scott, Global Research, 2008

The url address of this article is: www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=10065

see

The reality of NSPD-51 is almost as bad as the paranoia. By Ron Rosenbaum

Bush Declares Himself Dictator - Presidential Directive 51 (May 2007; video link)

Bush Directive for a “Catastrophic Emergency” in America by Prof. Michel Chossudovsky (Iran)

Bush Pens Dictatorship Directive, Few Notice by Kurt Nimmo

National Security & Homeland Security Presidential Directive 51 (2007)

Bush To Be Dictator In A Catastrophic Emergency by Lee Rogers (Martial Law; Police State)

Despite having a lack of sleep the night before, I caught up on my sleep deprivation this morning. My late awakening left me with little time to make my protein-packed special oatmeal creation and enjoy it, so I opted for the quicker toast w/sunflower butter and scrambled eggs. Plus, I'd have time to stop at Starbucks for a coffee and hopefully catch a smile from Super Cutie {the cute barrister I recently discovered!} But I digress, I kissed my cat, Nala, goodbye and drove off to Starbucks. Super Cutie was in charge of the drive-thru so I didn't pay too much attention to him, but I did have a quaint conversation with the girl who poured my coffee and after I mixed and stirred my grande dark roast coffee to perfection I headed to the office. The ride to my new office is less than 2 miles from my home and is usually a breeze. However, as I'm driving down Peachtree Road enjoying the warm Atlanta air, sipping my coffee while listening to Lois Reitzes' soothing voice between the classics I notice the traffic ahead and I'm ony half way to work. I was so lucky to have my cup of ambition with me because child, I had to wait for 1 traffic signal to change 9 times before I could take my turn and the whole morning could have easily been a complete disaster. But instead of letting the traffic insanity consume me I decided to act like the "non-yankee yankee" I am and was obnoxiously courteous to everyone who needed to be let in or out of a parking lot, lane or intersection along my way to work. I felt the urge to politely remind the others that they weren't the only ones on the road. Believe me, the drivers behind me were not happy! Lois' voice returned just in time to crank up the volume to drown out the beeping retardemo behind me {retardemo (ri-tahr-dim-oh)  [n.] 1.) a complete, fucking idiot. 2.) a dumbass. 3.) an inconsiderate fool}.

When I arrived at the office I was perkier than a 1980's cone-shaped bra and I knew I was going to have a fabulous day! Before I started my tasks for the day I set up an appointment for an overdue haircut after work. I called Oasis to make sure they'd accept my complimentary haircut coupon and scheduled a cut for 5:30 pm. Before I knew it I had multi-tasked my way to 5pm and headed off to get my hair'did. Once I arrived I was greeted promptly and was offered a beverage. I noticed the salon was a bit froo-froo but had a fun vibe. My stylist, Kristen, took care of me and we collaborated on how to make use of my stubborn cowlick. After a good 40 minutes and some razor texturing I felt ten pounds lighter with a renewed vigor I only get when I leave a salon. I tipped Kristen $10 and hauled ass. As I awaited patiently for valet to return my car I was thinking of three things: I need food, I need to go for a run and then get ready for John McCain to accept his party's nomination.

I've fallen in love with politics during the past several years and was almost as excited to watch the Republican Convention as I was for the Democrats'. Anyway, I got home and made my dinner and turned on the RNC channel which was about to start live feed from the convention. Nala and I were meowing back and forth about how most of the speeches during the previous nights were aimed at trying to convince us that the Repubicans would really cut taxes this time, preserve our liberties, and protect us from evil. We both laughed and meowed until I finished my dinner. I did fit in an interval cardio run around the neighborhood and made it back just in time to hear Cindy McCain introduce her husband. This was the first time I've heard her speak and the previous nights Cindy had been portrayed as a loving mother, a humanitarian, a successful business woman and a First Lady we could be proud of--yet when she took the stage and opened her mouth it seemed like she had never used a teleprompter before. Her delivery started off horrible and didn't improve much. I mean, when is she going to learn how to speak in front of audiences? I thought that was a prerequisite for the position?! Anyway, poor Cindy's speech should have been pre-recorded and edited so it could have come off more sincere. Isn't that the message the Republicans are trying to emulate? That they care and are sincerely going to change Washington? Oh wait, they had the last 8 years to do that and they blew their chance. Again, I digress. 

As I was awaiting the Maverick to speak I opened up my laptop and started to open my email to help pass the time ... and then there he was!  John McCain walked center stage, the lights were off except for a spotlight on McCain with a white glow around him; 'twas a very dramatic entrance. The lights came on again as he walked to the podium.  After less thank you's than Barack Obama & Hillary Clinton convention speeches combined, McCain's speech started out and continued to be lackluster but still covered the standard Republican talking points.  All of a sudden I began to listen again as I heard McCain attempting to emulate Obama.  McCain was urging his listeners to be more involved with their communities, to serve, to give, to "help feed a hungry child and help an illiterate adult to learn how to read." I was so inspired I continued reading an email I got from MoveOn.org asking me to write a letter to a local publication to shed light on the truth about Sarah Palin and the distorted facts included in her speech. I was so inspired I wrote and sent my letter to all 13 suggested newspapers to express my viewpoints.  I want to share with you my letter...

Again, I was feeling quite fabulous from a great, productive day, a spectacular haircut and a recent high from running: 

**

The Truth About Palin: Americans Know Better

Governor Sarah Palin's political attack speech last night fabulously distorted the facts and was full of evil-spirited zingers that seemed straight out of Karl Rove's handbook. Please don't be fooled by the perfectly crafted and carefully selected choice of words created for her by George W. Bush's speech writer. Palin is just another politician, chosen to be the V.P. nominee only because she is a polished female politician.  Ouch, I know ... it sounds so bad when you say it outloud!  But let's face it, the McCain Campaign and the Republican Party knows that without a woman on their ticket they don't stand a chance.  I am not a fool, and I believe neither are most Americans.
I know the facts about Palin and would like to share a few.  Palin asserts she doesn't support the Bridge to Nowhere, well, not anymore, but she did in 2006. Her social views are even scarier. Palin's thinking is in align with the Bush Administrations' approach to education; teach creationism in school and support an abstinence-only approach to sex-ed.  It's like she's living in the 1950's.
I am neither a Democrat or a Republican, just an ordinary American that desperately wants other Americans to know the truth about the candidates so we all can make the right choice for the Presidency this time.  We don't need more politicians in Washington with close ties to Big Oil, like Palin! I urge anyone who is thinking of supporting the McCain/Palin ticket to please research these candidates' true positions and consider the real consequences of what could possibly be a third Bush term.
I hate to quote Hillary Clinton, but believe her words "No Way, No How, No McCain."

***

What a great way to end the day! Now, Nala and I will cozy up and go to bed. Good nite;)

So does this mean that the Lefties want you to believe World economies are influenced by Bush, too, and not by the living, breathing economy itself?

- Julian

The Times of London smells a rat in regard to the timing of the recent convoy battle:

[British commanders] understood that the plan was fraught with political and military problems at the highest levels. The knowledge left many Nato commanders wondering whether the lives of their men were being risked for the sake of little more than American political expediency.

UPDATE: The British defence minister responds:

We cannot afford to wait for complete security to be established before development begins. The need to combine the two is one of the challenges of Afghanistan, which both we and NGOs are grappling with to support the Afghan government.

By DAVID ESPO and ROBERT FURLOW, Associated Press Writers

ST. PAUL, Minn. - John McCain, a POW turned political rebel, vowed Thursday night to vanquish the "constant partisan rancor" that grips Washington as he launched his fall campaign for the White House. "Change is coming," he promised the roaring Republican National Convention and a prime-time television audience.

"Fight with me. Fight with me. Fight with me. Fight for what's right for our country," he urged in a convention crescendo.

Video of McCain Speech:
http://www.strmz.com/Channel2855?link=
http://youtube.com/?v=jqqj2UN_leI

To repeated cheers from his delegates, McCain made only passing reference to an unpopular George W. Bush and criticized fellow Republicans as well as Democratic rival Barack Obama in reaching out to independents and swing voters who will pick the next president.

"We were elected to change Washington, and we let Washington change us," he said of the Republicans who controlled Congress for a dozen years before they were voted out of office in 2006.

As for Obama, he said, "I will keep taxes low and cut them where I can. My opponent will raise them. I will cut government spending. He will increase it."

 

McCain's wife, Cindy, and ticketmate Sarah Palin and her husband joined him on stage as tens of thousands red, white and blue balloons cascaded from high above the convention floor.

Unlike Obama's speech a week ago, McCain offered no soaring oratory until his speech-ending summons to fight for the country's future. And he seemed to receive a milder audience response than Palin had a night earlier, as well.

But his own measured style left the hall in cheers, and as is his habit in campaign stops around the country, he stepped off the stage to plunge into the crowd after his speech. Palin joined him, embraced by the jubilant throng.

McCain touched only briefly on the Iraq war — a conflict that Obama has vowed to end. "I fought for the right strategy and more troops in Iraq, when it wasn't a popular thing to do," the Republican said, adding that in the months since, the long-suffering nation had been spared from defeat. McCain's appearance was the climax of the final night of the party convention, coming after delegates made Palin the first female vice presidential nominee in Republican history.

"She stands up for what's right and she doesn't let anyone tell her to sit down," McCain said of the woman who has faced intense scrutiny in the week since she was picked.

 
Republican presidential nominee Senator John McCain accepts the 2008 Republican presidential nomination as he speaks to the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota September 4, 2008.(Brian Snyder/Reuters)

"And let me offer an advance warning to the old, big-spending, do-nothing, me-first, country-second Washington crowd: Change is coming," McCain declared.

McCain and Palin were departing their convention city immediately after the Arizona senator's acceptance speech, bound for Wisconsin and an early start on the final weeks of the White House campaign.

McCain, at 72 bidding to become the oldest first-term president, drew a roar from the convention crowd when he walked out onto the stage lighted by a single spotlight. He was introduced by a video that dwelt heavily on his time spent as a prisoner of war in Vietnam and as a member of Congress, hailed for a "faithful unyielding love for America, country first."

"USA, USA, USA," chanted the crowd in the hall.
 

McCain faced a delicate assignment as he formally accepted his party's presidential nomination: presenting his credentials as a reformer willing to take on his own party and stressing his independence from an unpopular President Bush — all without breaking faith with his Republican base.

He set about it methodically.

"After we've won, we're going to reach out our hand to any willing patriot, make this government start working for you again," he said, and he pledged to invite Democrats and independents to serve in his administration.

He mentioned Bush only in passing, as the leader who led the country through the days after the terror attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

And there was plenty for conservative Republicans to cheer — from his pledge to free the country from the grip of its dependence on foreign oil, to a vow to have schools answer to parents and students rather than "unions and entrenched bureaucrats."

A man who has clashed repeatedly with Republicans in Congress, he said proudly, "I've been called a maverick. Sometimes it's meant as a compliment and sometimes it's not. What it really means is I understand who I work for.

"I don't work for a party. I don't work for a special interest. I don't work for myself. I work for you."

Thousands of red, white and blue balloons nestled in netting above the convention floor, to be released on cue for the traditional celebratory convention finale.

Given McCain's political mission, it was left to other Republicans to deliver much of the criticism aimed at Obama.

In the race for the White House, "It's not about building a record, it's about having one," said former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge. "It's not about talking pretty, it's about talking straight."

McCain invoked the five years he spent in a North Vietnamese prison. "I fell in love with my country when I was a prisoner in someone else's," he said. "I was never the same again. I wasn't my own man anymore. I was my country's."

The last night of the McCain-Palin convention also marked the end of an intensive stretch of politics with the potential to reshape the race for the White House. Democrats held their own convention last week in Denver, nominating Delaware Sen. Joseph Biden as running mate for Obama, whose own acceptance speech drew an estimated 84,000 partisans to an outdoor football stadium.

The polls indicate a close race between McCain and Obama, at 47 a generation younger than his Republican opponent, with the outcome likely to be decided in scattered swing states in the industrial Midwest and the Southwest.

Ahead lie the traditional major checkpoints — presidential and vice presidential debates, millions of dollars in ads — but also the unscripted, spontaneous moments that can take on outsized importance in the race to pick a president.

Before he spoke Thursday night, Cindy McCain recommended her husband to the crowd — and the nation. "If Americans want straight talk and the plain truth they should take a good close look at John McCain, a man tested and true who's never wavered in his devotion to our country," she said. She called him "a man who's served in Washington without ever becoming a Washington insider."

 
NASCAR team owner and former head coach of the NFL Washington Redskins Joe Gibbs speaks at the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota, September 4, 2008.(Mike Segar/Reuters)

Read the rest:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/2008
0905/ap_on_el_pr/cvn_convention
_rdp;_ylt=AhJh2vn.zJj7S2iuoIRJCUqs0NUE

As for the McCain's speech, I thought it was exciting for the last three minutes, and OK but fairly dull before that (though maybe I'm the only one tired of hearing the POW story and yearning for specifics). I wasn't as impressed with the speech as some of the talking heads, though perhaps that's a reflection of my own bias (and my conservative buddy Mike is the speech professor). Topping Sarah Palin's speech of last night would have been tough for McCain. Not surprisingly Fox News commentators seemed to like his speech the best, though PBS folks (except for liiberal Mark Shields) also lauded it.

Some of the most honest parts of the speech came when McCain criticized the current administration (though never by name), following the "change" message of the entire convention. The Republicans ended up benefitting from Hurricane Gustov, which kept President Bush--the implied target of many of the negative comments--off of the convention floor.

McCain failed to say how he will do things differently than the current president or his fellow Republican congressmen, who waged power for six years and then still had enough power to keep Democrats from enacting any meaningful legislation for the past two years. He drew some of his best response with promises to reform education--but conservatives before Bush thought education should be left to the states.

Liberals generally think the feds should be involved in things as important as education, but not in the way that McCain and Bush think they should be involved. Most Americans will agree with McCain that Washington and America need change, but he is literally a "johnny-come-lately" to the idea. He'll need some real ideas to back up the talk.

The next two months should be interesting. I've written repeatedly that not much that happened before now would matter much to voters. But now they've started paying attention, and each speech and perceived gaffe will matter more--especially what I call the "blogcessive compulsive" times. McCain appropriately said little or nothing about Republican hot buttons such as abortion and gay marriage in his speech, but he will have to address them in the weeks to come.

Now that people are tuned in, it would be nice if the mainstream news media would focus on the issues Americans will face and how each candidate might realistically affect those issues. Don't hold your breath.

John McCain gave a stirring, maybe even moving, speech to close the Republican Convention, but the whole thing brought to mind a story my dearly departed Daddy, a life-long Democrat, often told about the woman who was married three times and was still a virgin.  Her first husband was a much older gentleman, and on their wedding night when she emerged in her negligee, he had a heart attack and died.  Her second husband was an alcoholic and was incapable of consummating the marriage.  Her third husband was a Republican, and all he did was sit on the side of the bed and talk about how good it was going to be.

John McCain was the epitome of that Republican as he stood there before a cheering right-wing crowd and appealed to a beleaguered American middle and lower class to just give his party one more chance to get it right.  He wanted us to know that the Republicans were going to be really good this time.  He even went so far as to perform an act of contrition by noting that the Republican Party had gone to Washington to change it but instead were changed by it.  The statement fell upon silence in the hall as the “angry right” didn’t begin to get what he was talking about.

McCain had absolutely nothing new to offer the vast left-behind people of this country.  He tried to conceal this fact by carefully turned phrases such as:  “If you’ve lost your job, I will stand by you but stay out of your way.”  So as he tried to convince the hurting masses out here in the real world that he would help in some way, he simultaneously reassured his fellow Republicans that it would not be the business of government to do so.  In fact, he rallied his base by stating that he was going to make sure government stayed out of their way.

He made an impassioned promise to improve education in this country, but immediately went down the same road that Republicans have been trying to get us onto since segregation was ordered by the Federal Courts: school choice.  While this “choice” sounds like a good thing, it is simply code for closing down public schools by cutting off their funding.  He was also going to accomplish this by freeing the schools from the tyranny of teachers unions and “reward the good teachers and help the bad teachers find another job.”  As one who spent fourteen years as a teacher, it was my experience that what school administrators considered to be the best teachers in the school had a direct correlation to how much kissing up was done by a particular teacher.  I taught at the community college level, and I have student evaluations to lay beside my “performance evaluations” to illustrate my point.  I never once had an administrator attend one of my classes.  And by the way, I didn’t have the benefit of a teachers union when the “Education Governor” George W. Bush cut funding to community colleges in Texas eventually leading to the closing of several workforce programs including my own.

McCain also pointed out the tragic cases of several families he had run across while campaigning, people who had lost their jobs and the like, and he promised to “fight for them.”  But he gave only one example of something  he would actually do to help one of those families.  That family had lost a son in the Iraq War, and all he promised them was that he would make sure their son didn’t die in vain.  It was typical Republican/McCain rhetoric and position: we’re always looking out for the unborn and the heroic dead, but everyone in between the two will have to look out for themselves.

He pretended to offer relief from the staggering damage that an unaffordable healthcare system has wrought on our citizens and economy.  He warned of the evils of a system that would guarantee access to all, stating that it would lead to “some bureaucrat standing between you and your doctor.”  If McCain ventured outside the comfortable bounds of his government healthcare program, he would find what those fortunate enough to have some form of healthcare insurance already know:  some clerk in your insurance company is standing in the way of you getting the healthcare you need!  McCain didn’t lose his touch.  He never had it to begin with.

Yet again John McCain showed without question that he just doesn’t get it.  He still thinks the way out of this fix is to give yet more tax relief to big corporate America in hopes that they will shower the benefits down upon the rest of us and to protect big insurance’s stranglehold on the healthcare system of our country.  His plea?  Ah, c’mon, baby, if you’ll just give me one more chance, I’ll make it up to you.

It’s time for us to recognize the talk for what it is: talk.  It’s time to throw the bums out and go with some real change.  C’mon, baby, dump that old lying man and find someone who really cares about you.

Tom Ridge Defends 'John Bush'

The other morning as we tried to get home through downtown -- which is covered with American flags as well as "road closed" signs -- Victoria announced that someday she was going to be "Vice-President!"

Unprompted, she added, "I'm going to put lemonade in all the drinking fountains!"

I try not to wear my politics on my sleeve on this blog, but it's pretty integrated with our lives right now. So in the late summer spirit of partisanship, more photos.

I guess since Dick Cheney isn't running for anything this year, we'll have the next best thing:

And here are a few more that Violet insisted on from the state fair, like this:

(Yes, that is a scarecrow Pinocchio W. Bush with a marionette Sen. Norm Coleman dangling from his right hand.)

I've been thinking about politics and blogging, and I've decided that limited mention of politics is OK for me, as long as I keep it positive. Which means I will not elaborate on my thoughts about Norm Coleman, Sarah Palin, or John McCain, or even their party or their supporters. I am free to say that Obama is an exciting candidate, I think it's cool his VP candidate is Catholic (though I don't vote based on that), and I have an Al Franken sign in my yard, because anyone is better than Norm.

Whoops, better work on that self-control.

For technical reasons involving internet access, we now have cable, which means I can get all the fake news and political satire I can handle from 2 guys who would be my secret boyfriends, if I had such things.

Palin's address last night was a good speech delivered poorly.  On the other hand, McCain's address tonight was a terrible speech delivered even more poorly.

It was a hollow series of bumper-sticker platitudes, a boring laundry list of fuff.  There were no specifics, just a lot of "I will do this" and "I will do that."

And the lack of substance was made even worse by a terrible delivery--I honestly have to say it was one of the worst speeches I've ever heard anyone--Democrat or Republican--give.  And the Republicans in the hall gave McCain a reception roughly as strong as the one they gave Tommy Thompson.  If this is a preview of what a President McCain would be like--Bushean platitudes and hollow rhetoric--I don't think very many more people are going to run to start line up behind McCain.

I think whatever sparks Palin generated yesterday were put out by McCain's wet blanket of a speech today.  Like I said before, in a week or two these speeches are going to be forgotten, so this won't matter much.  But if this is a preview of things to come, McCain-Palin is in for a rude awakening in November.

UPDATE: Hillary Clinton responds:

The two party conventions showcased vastly different directions for our country. Senator Obama and Senator Biden offered the new ideas and positive change America needs and deserves after eight years of failed Republican leadership. Senator McCain and Governor Palin do not.

After listening to all the speeches this week, I heard nothing that suggests the Republicans are ready to fix the economy for middle class families, provide quality affordable health care for all Americans, guarantee equal pay for equal work for women, restore our nation's leadership in a complex world or tackle the myriad of challenges our country faces. So, to slightly amend my comments from Denver: NO WAY, NO HOW, NO McCAIN-PALIN.

I can't wait until Monday--I can't wait to see Hillary Clinton take on Sarah Palin.

Reptilian humanoids are a common motif in mythology, folklore, science fiction, ufology, and contemporary conspiracy theories. They are variously said to be beings that evolved on Earth parallel to mankind, extraterrestrials, supernatural entities, or the remains of a pre-human civilization. Depending on context they are known by many names, including Snakepeople, Reptoids, Dinosauroids, Lizardfolk, Lizardmen or Chitauri.

According to David Icke, reptilian humanoids are the force behind a worldwide conspiracy directed at manipulation and control of humanity. He contends that most of the world's leaders, from Bill Clinton, Hillary Rodham Clinton and George W. Bush to members of the British Royal Family, are in fact related to 7-foot (2.1 m) tall, blood-drinking, reptilians from the star system Alpha Draconis.

According to an interview with David Icke, Christine Fitzgerald claims that she was a confidante of Diana, Princess of Wales, and that Diana told her that the Royal Family were reptilian aliens, and that they could shapeshift. Icke also claims that many presidents of the United States have been and are reptilian humanoids. In his view, United States foreign policy after September 11 is the product of a reptilian conspiracy to enslave humanity, with George W. Bush as a servant of the reptilians. He claims that these reptilians came to Earth from the constellation Draco, as opposed to John Rhodes, of the Reptoids Research Center, who claims that the majority of reptilians are of Earth origin and that they have outposts in various planetary systems and/or dimensions.

Icke draws connections between the reptilian aliens in his theories and the Annunaki depicted in Zechariah Sitchin's 12th Planet, which has led to other conspiracy theorists referring to reptilian humanoids as the "Annunaki"; however, Sitchin himself has always described his Annunaki as purely humanoid.

John Rhodes was the first person to publicly present claims of reptilian-humanoid sightings and contact. He established the Reptoids.com website in 1997 to collect, review and present his claims of reptoid activity. He has also appeared on television and radio shows giving interviews about his beliefs on Reptoids.

Rhodes contends that the majority of the reptilian humanoids are descendants of the dinosaurs and are biological byproducts of Earth evolution. Rhodes cites the 1980s thought experiment of Dale Russell (see above) as an example of scientific projection that correlates his "Evolved Reptoid" theory. Rhodes also states that human attention has been intentionally misdirected away from the underworld toward deep space, so the subject of underground Earth dwelling Reptoids and lost ancient civilizations can remain secret.

Rhodes adds that most accusations of politicians shape-shifting into reptilian humanoids are totally unfounded, and that such reports are simply projections of collective fear and blame for the world's conditions. When questioned as to why Reptoids have become the proverbial "whipping boys" of modern ufology, he responds that it is because people tend to have a knee-jerk reaction to the image that western religious authorities have conditioned them to fear and distrust.

"Look, George, we're going to have to, uh, talk about how much you suck.  Yeah, you see, in order to win this election we need to, well, completely dissassociate ourselves from you and your mistakes.  No offense!"

"I think she'll ultimately be a polarizer. After last night's smash, Republicans are in deep love. Nothing thrills 'em like a good 'us vs. them' speech. But I'd guess that most Democrats had the opposite reaction. In a year where the Democrat generic numbers are 10+ points better than the Republican, I don't like the math of a strategy that just polarized the election along party base lines. Among the vital sliver of voters in the middle, I think Palin's rock solid social conservatism will be a turn off. And while voters may value vision over experience, Palin's inexperience is a weakness, denying McCain an argument that has been helping him against Obama."

Like I said before, Palin's speech was great--but it wasn't the speech she needed to give.  In a year where the Republican brand is so weak, a partisan, red-meat-for-the-followers campaign isn't going to cut it.

And surely enough, preliminary polls support Murphy's argument: both Gallup and Rasmussen show Obama leading by 5-7%.  Pollster, FiveThirtyEight and Electoral-Vote also show Obama significantly ahead. Meanwhile, the Obama campaign has raised $8 million since the Palin speech, while the Republicans have raised just $1 million.

Yeah, it's still early.  But remember, the Democratic bounce started before Obama gave his acceptance speech at Invesco field.  So while the Republicans will get a bounce, right now it doesn't look like it'll be high enough to overcome Obama's lead.

Let's face it--mooseburgers, POWs, 'hockey moms,' press BBQs and 'straight talk' won't be enough to win this election.  The American people are hurting; the stakes are too high for us to get distracted by trivial garbage.

So while the GOP re-uses the Bush playbook, trying to make this election about who wants to have a beer with who, just look at the polls--the American people are fed up.  We want someone in charge who is going to fix our problems, and right now that's Obama and Biden, not Palin and McCain.  The more the Republicans polarize, the more they feed into Obama's argument about having to overcome the divisive politics of the past.

For those who read and research information before making a judgment on issues and political news, they will easily see through the propaganda that is being promoted. In case you’re unaware, the McCain campaign raised $10 million dollars after announcing Palin as McCain’s running mate which coincidentally occurred the following morning after Obama’s acceptance speech.

Do I believe the Obama campaign raised the $10 million they say they did, absolutely not. Especially with three other AP stories reporting only an estimated $8 million dollars. This is yet another attempt by the Democrat Party to ease the anxiety attacks that are overwhelming their party followers. Why the anxiety attacks? Simple, if you only went on the mainstream media reports then you would know that Obama won the Election 10 months ago. Instead the Democrats can feel the Republicans breathing down their necks. America, we got it wrong in 2006 by giving Democrats the control of the House & Senate as they sit with a dismal 9% approval rating, let’s not make the same mistake twice.

In reading the interviews throughout the various Internet sites, it is apparent that Obama seems upset that the Republicans are doing exactly the opposite of what Obama has seen the mainstream media doing for the past 19 months. This difference is that the Republicans are attacking, attacking, attacking.

Along the way Obama brought up the hot ticket item currently for the Republican Party in that of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. He commented, “I assume she wants to be treated the same way guys are treated…I’ve been through this for 19 months, she’s been through this for, what, four days so far?” He later went on to say, “I’ll let Governor Palin talk about her experience. I’ll talk about mine.” My question is why does he make this comment after trying to make an assumption about the treatment of Palin?

The truth of the matter is Palin ripped the Obama-Biden ticket (primarily Obama) apart during her acceptance speech this past Wednesday night, so I cannot blame him for not wanting her to tear him to shreds. She was berated for 5 days, stayed in her hotel room and wrote an eloquent speech that should have been dedicated to those who doubted her the most during that 5 day stretch.

Following all of this commotion, Obama’s top strategist, David Axelrod said, “She tried to attack Senator Obama by saying he had no significant legislative achievements. Maybe that’s what she was told…” It is apparent that this is only talking points as yet again the Obama campaign cannot supply the proper backing to support their rhetoric they spew.

Truth be stated, Palin came out with the guns-a-blazing and was a true “maverick” in delivering her acceptance speech. The funny thing is there was such outrage for her standing up for herself, but if she hadn’t taken the course she did, the Democrats would have walked all over her questioning her ability to lead if she hadn’t criticized those who were critical of her.

Seriously, Jesus, do you see that background? It's like, an African grassland. And the stage, as Wonkette points out, is a large black cock. Also, Cindy has an African lady in her box tonight. Why is Cindy showing everybody her box?

Okay. Live-blogging this bullshit, let's go.

McCain Video

9:02 POW. Father. POW. Senator. POW. Fuckass. POW. Cunt. POW. Trollop. POW. Mama's boy. POW. WALNUTS!! POW. WALNUTS!! Trollop cunt. POW. Son of a POW. Whoretits. Beezus H. Christ.

9:05 Oh look, Roberta McCain is allowed to talk when they write the words for her.

9:06 Hanoi. 5 and a half years! Hanoi. POW. POW. Old man reading book on a stage. John McCain forgot to love America for the first part of his life, but then he was a POW and made thirty propaganda films for the Vietnamese. USA!

9:07 Then he came back and saw old Carol McCrippleCunt. BOOOOOOOOOO.

9:08 Jammakain will even sacrifice body armor for troops to keep taxes low! Because he is a traitor to the troops! OH WALNUTS!! You MAVERICK!

9:09 Jammakain has a Surge for everything. Even though his Surges don't work. Oh well. Jammakain is eleventy years old. We should not expect all that much. Did you hear John McCain fathered a black baby out of wedlock? I heard that, too, from George W. Bush, in South Carolina, in 2000. Did you all hear that John McCain hired the guy that spread that rumor about him, Tucker Eskew, to be Sarah Palin's buttboy? Seriously. That's like, fully selling out, John McCain. Bringing in the man who ruined your first presidential run by running over your daughter with a steamroller. Video Over.

9:10 Wait, goddammit, Fred Thompson is talking about Cindy McCain's box...oh here's WALNUTS!!

WALNUTS!! Talking Part

9:12 Skipped over 9:11. Haha fuck you Rudy 9iu1ian1, you are a loser!

9:13 Shots of all the wives in the audience, Cindy, Sarah Palin, but no Carol! What's up with the hilarious signs people are holding that say "Peace"? This is the Republican Racist Warfucker Convention.

9:14 What??? The background changed! That stupid moron is in front of a fucking green screen again!

9:15 Haha he actually mentioned President Dumbshit! The morons in the audience needed that. They still lub them some Baby Bush.

9:16 Yeah keep chanting, let Grandpa Pedophile do his laugh thing, that's endearing to the American people. Barbara and Poppy have been married for 63 years? Wow.

9:17 But family life isn't as pleasurable when your wife is addicted to all of the pharmaceuticals in the world.

9:18 I wouldn't be here tonight if my mother hadn't fed me lots of WALNUTS!!

9:19 Haha, WALNUTS!! will earn your trust through lying. A word to the "community organizers" of the nation -- look at my dark daughter!

9:20 Congratulations to the black! Now we will stomp the black! *crowd roars*

9:22 Um, what the hell was that? I need a laptop.

9:24 Jesus are people going to ruin the WALNUT speech? Everybody look at my moosebreath and her big Alaskan tatties!

9:25 Mumble mumble Sarah Palin has experience, MOTHER OF FIVE CHILDREN! What the hell...Sarah Palin doesn't "struggle." Is that the extent of the "economy" part?

9:26 WALNUTS!! will bring Snowtard to Washington, at which point she will start shooting moose with her rifle, and by moose I mean tourists. CHANGE IS COMING! JUST LIKE BARACK OBAMA!

9:28 Did you hear I'm a maverick? I'm also a POW. I work for you! Your personal POW Maverick! Define "maverick," any delegate in the audience, define it. It's funny when he talks about fighting corruption.*cough* Keating Five!

9:29 I will veto all the pork and I will write the pork's name on the board, yeah! POW!

9:30 Speaking of "stole from Indian tribes," Jack Abramoff was sentenced to Four More Years (of prison) today. Guess who hired one of Abramoff's lobbyists associates? Sarah Palin. Snowy McScandalbottoms.

9:31 Petraeus! Every Republican's favorite that they don't understand! Wait -- Iraq's civil war would have spread to...where?

9:32 Haha, sad, John McCain has downtrodden people in his audience, too. "They matter to me, too." Too bad John McCain's policies will royally fuck their assholes even harder than Bush's.

9:33 John McCain wears bracelets to remember fallen soldiers. He also wears bracelets in case he falls and McPills isn't there. Did he really just try to lay "corporate welfare" on Barack Obama? Heh. Funny. Lying asshole. Of course, the dumbasses in the audience don't even know what it is they support as long as it isn't a nigra.

9:35 Haha, John McCain mentioned Latina migrant workers, who the average conservative blames for everything from gay marriage to abortion to hangnails.

9:36 "Culture of Life!" "legislate from the bench!" DING DONG DOGWHISTLES!

9:37 BOOOOOOO John McCain's lies about taxes only are effective for the most retarded in this country. Luckily most of them are in that room!

9:38 Haha Republican delegates have such a poor grasp on the English language that they start booing before he even finishes his thought. Morons.

9:39 Wonkette says things are visibly tense in there due to protesters. I wonder if that has anything to do with the way the small-dicked police and Republican officials have convinced these mouthbreathers that Code Pink peace protesters are the moral equivalent of al Qaeda. Idiots.

9:40 Blah Blah Voucher Bullshit. "I have a new way for you to get your kids away from blacks that will not force you to move! I will call this my Civil Rights initiative!"

9:42 Senator Obama wants your kids to be black, I want them to be POW's!

9:44 Ambishus Nashunal Prog Ject. I love how the audience starts hooting and relinquishing bladder control at the thought of drilling for oil in the United States. Even though Bush's Energy Department says it won't help. We don't need yer goddamn facts!

9:45 Republicans rely on voters to be uninformed and stupid. It's really sad.

9:46 God, WALNUTS!! This speech is really fucking boring. I'd rather be watching NFL, which is also on tonight. Incidentally, I hate football, because I am a liberal elite and I like futbol.

9:47 Here comes the part where he lists boogeyman countries. OOH, big bad Russia! Republicans are always jonesin' for another Cold War. Prediction: No more than five people in that room (not counting liberal bloggers) could name both of the breakaway regions the Russia-Georgia war was fought over.

9:48 POW not afraid of big bad threats! POW eat threats! POW eat threats with face cancer! POW was 5th from the bottom of his class at the Naval Academy...boring.

9:50 I hate war! To prove it, I will start as many wars as I can so I can hate them all, right to their faces!

9:52 Not much about Obama in this speech, on balance. We're thirty-nine minutes in. WALNUTS!! should not be speaking for 39 minutes! Doctors orders! I have scars on my WALNUT cheeks! Senator Obama has no scars on his beautiful milky chocolate dongskin!

9:53 John McCain would not be asking "Democrats and Independents" to serve in his cabinet, unless by that he means "Joes and Liebermans."

9:55 OOH something unusual! He was blessed by misfortune...uh...uh...uh...uh...uh...Gulf of Tonkin...North Vietnam...tuff guy...maverick...bend some rules...haw haw picked fights to get bonerz...fell into lake...Hanoi...anger bullets...1-2-3 and POWPOWPOWPOWPOWPOWPOWPOWPOWPOWPOWPOW!!!

9:56 POW! *makin propaganda films for North Vietnamese*

9:57 Hey, remember what Wes Clark said? Getting shot down is not a qualification for being President. It's still true. Heroic service, blah blah blah, but I'm really getting tired of this being the only thing John McCain and his surrogates trot out, every single fucking day, to prove how fit he is for the presidency.

9:59 I fell in love with America when I was forced to date an ugly country that was in a wheelchair for 5.5 years. America, on the other hand, was a blonde beir heiress. Oh wait, he's actually talking about the United States? Oh. My bad.

10:01 "Serve a cause greater than yourself" is pretty much the theme of Barack Obama's campaign. Funny.

10:02 Whoo, WALNUTS!! is having a burst of energy here at the end! Too bad he's essentially paraphrasing Barack Obama's themes. Hilarious. Thank god that's over.

In their corner:

Smelly fucking hippies, union thugs, MoveOn.org, snobs, terrorist sympathizers, PETA, elitists, Olbermann, jackasses, Kos Kids, soymilk drinkers, Chris Matthews, crybabies, whiners, America haters, pussies, The New York Times, lazy fuckers, fake tits, scolds, militant drag queens, atheists, John Kerry, victims, liars, baby killers, thieves, Code Pink, douche bags, tree huggers, felons, scumbags and general fucking assholes, crackheads and losers.

In our corner:

Entrepreneurs, rugged individualists, soldiers, mothers, God-fearing church goers, small-town folk, gun toters, ass kickers, George W. Bush, Fox News, CEO’s, business owners, baby lovers, hot chicks, Hank Williams, Jr, Swift Boat vets, beer drinkers, hard workers, the well-mannered, real boobs, the charitable, Dick Cheney, a fucking shitload of bombs, Ace of Spades, cowboys, hard workers, the friggin’ Jooos, patriots, the brave, Pat Buchanan, strippers, winners and Kid fucking Rock....

Also hot triplets with an American Flag painted on their hot triplet bodies....

Let’s roll.

El presidente George W. Bush se prepara para castigar al gobierno de Rusia por invadir Georgia mediante la cancelación de un acuerdo _muy celebrado en su momento_ de cooperación nuclear con fines civiles entre Washington y Moscú.

Al estar las relaciones entre los dos países en un nivel casi similar al de la Guerra Fría por la decisión de Rusia de invadir a su vecina Georgia el mes pasado, ya se desarrollan planes en la Casa Blanca en torno a una medida mayoritariamente simbólica del gobierno de Bush, de acuerdo con funcionarios gubernamentales de alto nivel que solicitaron permanecer anónimos debido a que la decisión aún no es definitiva.

La acción deberá ocurrir rápidamente, quizás en unos cuantos días, y las autoridades no vieron la necesidad de esperar hasta que el vicepresidente Dick Cheney regrese el miércoles próximo de un viaje al exterior que incluye escalas en tres repúblicas ex soviéticas.

La cancelación el acuerdo del Capitoli tendría en realidad muy poco impacto real, pues el convenio casi seguramente no sería aprobado por el Congreso durante la presidencia de Bush.

Sin embargo, el tomar la decisión en forma pública de retirarse del acuerdo sería un acto encaminado a enviarle un mensaje a Rusia y al resto del mundo en el sentido de que las acciones realizadas por soldados rusos en Georgia el mes pasado eran inaceptables y no se quedarían sin respuesta.

Para ello, Bush necesitaría enviar una declaración al Congreso en el que exprese que el acuerdo "ya no es de interés para la seguridad nacional" de Estados Unidos.

El próximo presidente estadounidense podría cambiar de parecer y enviar el acuerdo de vuelta al Congreso.

El acuerdo, suscrito en mayo por los dos países, había sido presentado por el gobierno estadounidense como un avance sin precedente.

Se le considera crucial para mejorar las relaciones con Rusia, pero algunos legisladores expresaron su desconfianza en Moscú, aún antes de la invasión de Rusia a Georgia.

Tout a commencé avec la visite de l'ex-présidente de Hewlett Packard, Mme Carly Fiorina.  Celle qui fut désignée par Forbes comme une des femmes d'affaires les plus influentes de la planète, leur a rappelé que seul le parti républicain est en mesure de faciliter le démarrage d'entreprises et la création d'emplois.  Imprégnée de valeurs libertariennes, elle a fait la promotion de l'amaigrissement de l'appareil gouvernemental et d'une réduction maximale des impôts.  Un exercice d'acrobatie assez exceptionnel lorsqu'on se souvient que c'est Mme Fiorina qui a coupé 7,000 emplois chez HP en 2002,  qu'elle n'a jamais hésité à impartir des fonctions dans des pays lointains - là où la main-d'œuvre est bon marché - et qu'elle a déjà demandé au gouvernement américain de financer les efforts de recherche et de développement de l'industrie informatique américaine...

Par la suite, les partisans ont eu le plaisir de voir et entendre le millionnaire Mitt Romney.  C'est le maître de l'illusion.  Malgré son antipathie face au capitaine McCain, il essaie de faire croire à la foule en délire qu'il le supporte incontestablement.  Dans son discours, il tente d'attirer la sympathie en appelant les spectateurs à se révolter contre l'establishment de la Nouvelle-Angleterre.  Il exige que le peuple vote pour son parti afin d'éviter l'arrivée de Big Brother.  On devine les astuces assez rapidement lorsqu'on se rappelle que M. Romney a réussi à accumuler une fortune de plusieurs centaines de millions de dollars dans une firme d'investissement de Boston.  Pour ce qui est de la référence au personnage de 1984, il s'est probablement inspiré des mesures du Patriot Act, imposé au peuple américain par l'actuel chef de son parti, George W. Bush...

Tout bon cirque doit avoir son clown.  Se pointe alors Rudolph Giuliani...  Il fait tout de même preuve d'un humour subtil en accusant ses adversaires de ne pas avoir parlé de la tragédie du 11 septembre 2001 lors de leur convention.  Il suggère également qu'il est grand temps de ranimer la guerre froide avec les russes et d'appuyer Israel sans aucune condition ni aucune considération envers le peuple palestinien.  Peut-être était-il sérieux après tout?

Le spectacle ne pouvait être complet sans le traditionnel numéro du fil de fer.   Voilà que s'élance la nouvelle vedette du cirque, inconnue du public, n'exigeant même pas de filet pour la capturer dans le cas d'une chute.  Son but est simple : court-circuiter l'arrivée de Barack Obama en minimisant son passé de travailleur social.  Répétant la grande prière libertarienne, Sarah Palin vante le mérite individuel et la sacro-sainte liberté américaine qui permet à tous les citoyens de pouvoir se lancer en affaires.  Pourtant, bon nombre de ses concitoyens ont été forcés à fermer boutique suite à l'arrivée de Wal-Mart dans leurs petites villages ruraux.  Grâce à son approche « pitbull », elle a permis à son fils de jouer au hockey et d'aller en Irak afin de défendre les intérêts de la nation avec la grande armée américaine.  Même si elle prône elle aussi la disparition de plusieurs services gouvernementaux, elle assure aux parents d'enfants handicapés qu'elle sera leur alliée si elle atteint la Maison Blanche.  Même si elle promet la réduction des dépenses de l'état, elle propose de construire un pipeline afin de transporter le pétrole de l'Alaska vers le cœur de l'Amérique.

L'éléphant semble plus imbécile qu'il ne l'était lors du spectacle de 2004...

Illustration: MatiLou - Flickr

I guess that depends on how you define "nobody":

Just to toss out a few.

"an Obama aide told the Huffington Post that the campaign has raised $8 million since her speech last night "from over 130,000 donors - on pace to hit $10 million by the time John McCain hits the stage tonight." ... UPDATE: The Republican National Committee says it has raised $1 million since Palin's speech."

Ah, sweet November.